Fires kill over 300 in Pakistan

More than 300 people met a macabre death when fire razed two factories, one in Karachi and the other in Lahore. The bigger of the two tragedies took place in the port city where at least 289 people died in one of the worst infernos Pakistan has seen in recent times.

On Tuesday afternoon, a fire enveloped a shoe factory in the eastern metropolis of Lahore, killing 25 people. A few hours later in the evening, a massive blaze broke out in a garments factory in Karachi's Baldia Town, leaving 289 people dead overnight.

In Karachi, there were so many bodies sent to hospitals that there was not enough space for them at the mortuaries.

At least 1,000 workers were present inside the Karachi factory at the time of the fire, when they had gone to receive their salaries, Geo News reported.

Many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, officials said. At least 26 of the 60 bodies identified were handed over to their family members, reported Xinhua.

"We found dozens of people dead in a large room of the factory's basement. It was totally burnt and parts of it were smouldering, which we put out before taking the bodies to hospitals," Geo News quoted Karachi fire chief Ehtesham Salim as saying.

Desperate relatives wailed as rescuers scrambled to help the trapped workers.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has announced compensation for the families of the victims and those who were injured. Rs.300,000 will be given to the families of the dead and Rs.50,000 for the injured.

Image: A woman looks for her missing family member at a morgue in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012.